December 5, 2013 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Cavs assign Henry Sims and Carrick Felix to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned center Henry Sims and guard/forward Carrick Felix to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Sims has appeared in six games for the Cavs this season, averaging 1.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game and Felix has appeared in three games, averaging 1.3 points in 5.0 minutes per game.

Both players will be available for Saturday night’s game in Erie, PA at the Erie Insurance Arena as the Charge take on the Erie BayHawks at 7:00 p.m.

NBA TV hires Stu Jackson as contributor

NBA TV has added former NBA executive and head coach Stu Jackson as a contributor on league-related topics including rules clarifications, discipline, and general league operations. His first in-studio appearance is scheduled for NBA GameTime on Friday, Dec. 13.

In addition to serving as a resource for NBA TV, Jackson will also contribute across NBA Digital’s portfolio, including answering questions from fans via Twitter – @StuJackson32 – and providing insights on NBA.com. His first Twitter chat will be Friday, Dec. 6.

Starting Tuesday, Dec. 10, Jackson will contribute monthly on the Hang Time podcast, co-hosting a segment alongside TNT analyst Reggie Miller and NBA.com’s Sekou Smith.

Jackson spent nearly 13 years as the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, in charge of all oncourt and international basketball operations, including game rules, conduct, discipline and analytics. He served as chairman of the NBA Competition Committee, which recommends rules changes to the NBA Board of Governors, and on FIBA’s Competition Commission and USA Basketball’s Board of Directors.

A veteran of four decades in professional and collegiate basketball, the New York Knicks made Jackson the second youngest head coach in league history in 1989. In New York, he totaled a 52-45 record, highlighted by the Knicks’ upset victory over the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1990 playoffs.

In 1994, Jackson was the first person hired by the Vancouver Grizzlies, serving as general manager and helping to shape all facets of the organization, eventually becoming the team’s head coach during the 1996-97 season. Before joining the Grizzlies, he coached at the University of Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to their first NCAA Tournament berth and victory in more than 45 years. He also was an assistant coach at Providence College, Washington State and the University of Oregon.

Jackson previously worked in the league office as director of basketball operations during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.

Warriors waive center Dewayne Dedmon

The Golden State Warriors have waived center Dewayne Dedmon, the team announced today.

Dedmon, 24, was originally signed as a D-League Call-Up from the Santa Cruz Warriors on November 18. The 7’0” center appeared in four games with Golden State, logging a total of six minutes.

During his time with Golden State, Dedmon also appeared in one game with Santa Cruz while on assignment to the D-League club, registering 23 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in a 117-103 victory over the Austin Toros on November 24.

Spurs vs Timberwolves game in Mexico City postponed due to smoke in arena

The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves has been postponed due to a generator malfunction which produced smoke inside Mexico City Arena.

The date for the rescheduled game, which will be played at Target Center in Minneapolis, will be announced at a later time.

Here’s a video clip of the smoke problem that prevented the game from happening:

Jeff Van Gundy says coaching is not the problem with Knicks

The New York Knicks are off to a 3-13 start, which is the second worst record in the entire NBA right now, ahead of the 3-15 Milwaukee Bucks. Guard J.R. Smith missed time early in the season, and center Tyson Chandler remains out with an injury and only played in four games. Still, even with injuries, the struggle has been serious. Here’s the New York Post with more:

Former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, now the lead NBA analyst for ABC/ESPN, said he believes the Knicks’ troubles have nothing to do with embattled Mike Woodson but with the roster and the person who built it.

The Post reported in Tuesday’s editions owner James Dolan would consider Van Gundy as a future candidate if he had a vacancy. Van Gundy was until recently persona non-grata with Dolan because he quit on him early in the 2001-02 season.

“This isn’t a coaching issue,’’ Van Gundy said on an ESPN Radio show Wednesday. “This is a roster issue. The absolute most important position on any professional team is the people in charge of picking the players. They have to be talented enough and fit together and have an intangible. It’s a hard job but an important job. The last thing the Knicks have is a coaching issue.”

General manager Glen Grunwald built the roster and was fired four days before training camp.

Derrick Rose to speak about injury Thursday

We’ve all accepted that Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is gone again. We’ll see him next season — presumably. But it’ll still be fascinating to hear what D-Rose himself has to say about his injuries, state of mind and more. Here’s the Chicago Tribune reporting:

After Thursday’s morning shootaround, Derrick Rose will address reporters for the first time since knee surgery ended a second straight season for him.

Expect resolve.

That’s the message coach Tom Thibodeau said the youngest most valuable player in NBA history has projected since returning to be around his teammates on Tuesday’s offday.

“Frankly, we have to take on Derrick’s approach,” Thibodeau said. “Derrick already has moved past it. He’s thinking about what he has to do the rest of the way, this summer, being ready for next year, talking to me about the team, what we have to do.

“And that’s what I see from our team. I don’t see anyone hanging their head. He’s not going to be here. We know that. We have more than enough here. Just concentrate on what we have to concentrate on; we know what we have to do.”